News, Wal-Mart considers move into Russia. (sales, buy, stores)

[John1960]

Retail giant hires executive to scope out possibilities

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is moving closer to a possible expansion into Russia with the appointment of an experienced European executive to scope out possibilities in a vast retail market worth more than $140 billion a year in food sales alone.

Wal-Mart considers move into Russia - World business - MSNBC.com

[moving123456]

I hope it goes over as well as it did in Germany. They didn't last too long there.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by John1960

Retail giant hires executive to scope out possibilities

"In Mother Russia, the possibilities scope out YOU!"

[recycled]

Russia is attracting a fair amount of outside investment with all the oil revenue rolling in. Don't forget they are now the #2 oil exporter and #1 gas exporter in the world. All the global tension that fuels speculation in energy futures works right into their grand plan. However there are a few things working against something like a Wal Mart entrance into Russia, even if they go the Trojan Horse route and buy into an existing big retailer. Russia is so vast, three times the size of the USA spread across 11 time zones with half the population. The large cities are hundreds and often thousands of miles apart, and there's nothing like the Boston-NYC-DC corridor with 70 million people crammed together and lined up in a row. They would need the mother of all distribution systems to make their US model work in a place like Russia. I would bet that Wal Mart has figured out that the small to medium sized cities in Russia, the ones that are well beyond Moscow or St Petersburg are terribly under-served by existing retail establishments. It's the same type of market that Wal Mart went after in middle America when they made their start.

[Sonrise]

I think it's funny that in Australia they have to use a clandestine name, (Big W, I think) but you can still tell it's Wal-Mart with the big yellow smiley face.

[wrightclan]

I don't know about Australia, but in the UK, Big W was the name for Woolworths' superstores. They've now reverted to just using the Woolworths' name. I suspect Big W in Australia is/was the same.

[wastina]

Doing business in Russia is not easy, and the Russians almost always come out ahead at the expense of the foreign investor. Russia recently broke their contracts with the oil companies and renationalized a bunch of them. It won't be easy for Wal-mart. (Projection: like Ikea, they'll start, and possibly stop, with Moscow and St. Petersburg).

[High Springs Gator]

Russia is a very sad country. Lots of corruption, aids, poverty, premature deaths, sub replacement birth rates, poor infrastructure.

[Crew Chief]

So will Wally World put in a counter in every department of the store manned by a Babushka that will hand you a chit when you buy something. Which you will then take to the Babushka at the front checkout. After paying for the item, you will take the receipt back to the first Babushka who will then (and only then) give you the item you have purchased???

[wastina]

And you will have to wait 20 minutes to catch the eye of a salesperson, who might eventually deign to wait on you!

But in all fairness, Russia has changed a lot. The old stereotypes really no longer fit. Russia has emerged (among the urban and younger populations) on par with Europe.